Mad Dash Racing - General FAQ

Mad Dash Racing FAQ/Walkthrough
Version O (for only)
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My roommate got an xbox when it first came out, and I loved Mad Dash Racing.
Unfortunately, when we graduated from college, the xbox and I parted ways.
Just recently I got one of my own, and was delighted to see how cheap Mad
Dash was going for these days. (too bad they never made new levels for it).
I was also shocked to see that there is not a single walkthrough to be found.
For those of you stumped on bucks or medals, this one's for you. You'll
find pointers on the rest of the game, but I assume that bucks and medals are
the only things anyone will ever need. And, by the way, I'll be shocked if
anyone ever looks at this, seeing as how old and unpopular the game was. But
if you're here...enjoy.
And as for copyrighting, come on. The information's not mine, it's all in
the game. Everyone has access to the same info, I just wrote it down. Who
cares. This isn't a special FAQ that includes my secret tricks, and I'm not
going to get any street credit for having figured it out. Take it, it's
yours.
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TOC:
1. --Story Mode--
2. --Medals--
3. --Hex Bucks--
4. --Stunts--
5. --Attacks--
6. --Time--
7. --Main Character Challenge--
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--Story Mode--
Gotta do this first. This will unlock the levels (and Tek-9) so that you
can complete the challenges. For most races, the strategy is the same. The
catch up function that eidos put in is nice, because the levels and routes
are so divergent that if there wasn't a balancing factor, the difficulty
setting would be hard to establish, and any mistake might cost you the whole
race. However, they overdid it. You can be way behind and still catch up,
because the computer will slow down. Likewise, no matter how well you do,
they'll be RIGHT on your tail. So, it comes down to the last little bit.
Try to get a good weapon, be able to dash, or just know the last segment of
the level really well (the ruins are hard because the final climb is so
hard). If you ace the last 100 meters, or if you freeze, shoot, or dash at
that point, providing you didn't do awful earlier on, you should pull out
the win.
For the fortress, you have to fight the Tremmel King. Get to know the
shortcuts, reach tri-brid status, and then just keep hitting the booby traps.
If you don't use the shortcuts, the king will whoop you. Also, use chickens
when you're behind and fruit when you're ahead. Basically, get the shortcuts
down and you'll beat the level.
For the castle, the stakes are raised. You'll have trouble hurting hex
before reaching the summit, if you can hurt him at all. How much he beats
you by determines how much time you have to get started at the top. When you
do get to the top, you have two goals:
1 - don't let the machine start. This is your first priority. Run around
counter-clockwise and look for a steep slope (oh yes, be a tri-brid). Dash
up the slope and glide to the spinning platform. Run around the platform
counter-clockwise and jump off the far side, looking for a big red button.
If you make it to the platform, bash the button. If you don't make it, start
over, and try to handle the spinning platform a little better.
2 - clobber hex. Once the machine is disabled (the red bar goes down) you
can focus on opening up a can on Hex (making the white bar go down). Keep an
eye on the red bar, if it fills up again you lose. When it gets half full,
you might want to go bash a button again.
In the meantime, if you can't find Hex, run around the outer ring counter
clockwise and watch for the telltale purple sparks. You can bash him, attack
him, throw fruit or green bombs, lay a trail of crimson pain where he'll hit
it, or even chase him down with a disco ball. Just do damage. Chicken
missles. I try to balance out the straight attacks with picking up weapons
just so I don't get bored, it takes a little bit.
Now, the two sections you're actually here for:
--Medals--
TIKI VILLAGE
Dasher: The bridge will split into three paths, for the dasher, basher, and
glider. Take the Dasher one in the middle.
Glider: Take the glider one to the right. Get to the top of the roof.
Basher: Bash through the hut to the left. Or just run around to the back.
PIPEWERX
Dasher: Running along something that looks like a chain link fence, you'll
see a glider shortcut. Continue to the right and dash up the steep slope.
Glider: Take that glider shortcut before the dasher medal.
Basher: At one point you'll drop down a hole (the first time). Instead of
charging on, look for a basher shortcut in that room.
DINO OASIS
Dasher: Dash up to the left on the second snake turn, right at the start.
Glider: Near the catapult, when the stage opens up into a big figure 8 thing
with two courtyards down below, take the glider shortcut in the middle of
the figure 8 (top level). Glide to the pillar.
Basher: In the initial valley, bypass the mushroom shortcut on the left.
A little further down, on the left, will be a basher shortcut.
RUINS
Dasher: After the tunnel with boulders rolling at you, hit the switch and
dash along the left wall before the door closes
Glider: Shoot from the catapult (end of the caterpillar bridge) and glide
to the far left pillar of the bridge
Basher: Bash to the left right before the top of the waterslide.
MT. MAGMA
Dasher: After the first hand-over-hand section, there's a downward slope. At
the bottom of the slope, there's a dasher ramp to the right. Take the ramp,
run through the cave, and jump toward the shooter ring in the distance
(you'll land on a rail below the ledge). Grind the rail to the end.
Glider: After the drawbridge at the start, there's a right turn followed by a
left turn. Around the left turn, there's a glider shortcut to the left.
Head for the shooter ring.
Basher: Just before the second hand-over-hand section, there's a basher
shortcut to the right. The medal is just past the first group of obstacles.
BIOZONE
Dasher: There's a big room with green ooze everywhere. Take the shortcut to
the right. Jump to the formation in the middle. On the far side, there's
rail running to a second dasher shortcut.
Glider: Just after the third swim, there's a glider cut on the left. Run to
the top and glide through the hole.
Basher: Take the left fork at the beginning. The shortcut is on the left.
ALPINE
Dasher: Just before the gondolas, after one of the water sections, there's a
dasher shortcut on the right.
Glider: Not entirely sure. In the first set of slides (the ones high up on
the first mountain slope) there's a hole in the wall on the left with a
glider symbol. Take it, and grind a rail on the top of the house it takes
you to.
Basher: at the beginning of the second town (not the starting line one) look
for a basher door on the left.
FORTRESS
Dasher: Toward the end of a lap, before you get to the fortress, there's a
grey dasher slope to the right.
Glider: Can't miss this one. It's the first you'll encounter of the three.
Just a ramp, a medal, and a glider symbol right there in front of you.
Basher: After the path splits, you get to a place with lava and jumping
stones that curves to the left. At the START of that, there's a basher cut
to the left.
CASTLE
Dasher: Tall bridge (located at end of basher shortcut), at top
Glider: Right at start, take glider shortcut off the jump to the left.
At end of second line of shooter rings.
Basher: Look to the right along the first stretch of the track. There's
spikey brown rocks that can be bashed.
--Hex Bucks--
-Tips-
If you want to follow me buck by buck, read below. If you just want some
tips on how to do it yourself, read this paragraph and go hit it.
Using Hex or Tremmel King are easiest, since they are perpetual tribrids.
Just helps you get around. However, using Hex can complicate things a little
(see below) so you might just want to stick with a glider. Gliders are
easiest to use when back-tracking and stuff. I found them best.
Now, if you're having trouble finding bucks, here are some guidelines I found
(for the regular levels):
1.) There are NO BUCKS on skill specific paths. You might find one off the
top of a glider ramp, but close enough that you can get it with anyone. You
don't need a specific skill to get any buck, although sometimes a glider makes
it easier.
2.) You won't find bucks on two overlapping paths. If you know where the
bucks are, you can grab them all in one straight runthrough with no back-
tracking.
3.) In general, the bucks are along the best/hardest path. If there's a high
and low path, *usually* you'll find the bucks along the high-road. If there's
a rail to grind past a bunch of obstacles, the bucks will be on that rail, etc.
4.) Hex will help you out. Crank the sound (this is why using Hex can be
counter-productive). When you are close to a buck, he'll say something about
incompetence, cheer, or otherwise taunt you. He'll also scream when you get
one. It can be difficult to use this on the first run-through, since sometimes
he'll cheer before you've even gotten there. But once you've passed through an
area, if you backtrack and run it again, he'll let you know if you missed
something.
5.) Some levels you can back track from the finish-line to the starting line.
You can jump up all the slides, and if you can't make it up a ledge, try to fall
off a ledge in that direction and you might be dropped back up at the top. But
things like the Ruins have a point where you can't go back, so just try to find
all the bucks after it, and then don't pass that point until you have the rest
of them.
For the fortress and castle:
1.) Since you do laps, sometimes Hex will be taunting you for a buck you can't
get till later. Examples: beginning of fortress, you run close to a buck
located at the end of laps 1 and 2. So you can still listen to him, but be
aware.
2.) On the castle level, the basher and glider shortcuts have bucks. The steep
bridge that you may have to dash up also has one. So you need to use your
special talents.
-Buck locations-
TIKI VILLAGE
1. Middle of the bridge right at the beginning
2. After the initial bridge, veer to the left of the stone arch.
3. Jump through the two hoops to the left of the stone arch.
4. A little past 2 and 3, look for a fallen totem pole. Run along the top.
5. Keep running down the totem pole.
6. Keep to the right, go through a short tunnel just before the first pier
bridge.
7. After the tunnel, turn left through the pond, and run off the ramp.
8. Along the first section of the pier, look on top of the posts along the
right.
9. On top of the first gazebo on the pier. Jump up using the two posts prior
to the Gazebo.
10. After the pier. Look for a glider shortcut at the top of a bamboo ramp.
Run up the ramp.
11. At the top of the ramp, grind the rail to the left. Don't jump, just hold
X.
12. Turn left, just stay in the center of the pier bridge.
13. Keep to the middle, it's in the gazebo where you jump to the lower bridge.
14. There's a place with a tunnel to the right and a rail to the left. Take
the rail.
15. At the end of the rail, run up the slope and jump through the shooter rings.
16. Where the path splits into the glider/dasher/basher routes with the medals,
run to the right and stay low.
17. Where there is the giant tiki with the hand, run down the middle bridge.
18. At the bottom of the slide, through the water, there's a buck on top of the
last rock.
19. On top of a hump in the sand at the bottom of the slide.
20. Where the fire shoots upwards, just before the finish line, veer left.
PIPEWERX
-There's not much branching in this level. The key is to stay in the middle.
There's one or two out of the way.
1. Stay in the middle, right around the yellow tremmel at the start.
2. Stay in the middle, on the slide.
3. Take the middle rail, at the first set of rails.
4. In the room with the pistons and the blue gas, jump on a piston and ride
it to the top. Turn around and run to the back of the room, there's a buck
on the "diving board" there.
5. Head back to the front of the room. When you get the the end of the bridge
with the red buttons, stay in the middle.
6. Just before the first trap door (vertical tube to drop down).
7. At the room with the big spinning mixer thing, go straight across and into
the lower tunnel.
8. At the top of the giant climbing wall, in the entrance to the following
tunnel, there's a buck in the middle.
9. Now you'll be in the "chain link bridge" area. There's a dasher, basher,
and glider shortcut. Don't take any of them. Run all the way to the dasher
slope and cut back to your left. At the end of this path there's a buck.
10. Climb up the wall. At the top, in the entrance to the next tunnel, there's
a buck.
11. At the end of that tunnel, jump through the shooter ring. You'll be flung
through the buck.
12. At the end of the next tunnel. Just stay middle.
13. Right at the entrance to the third spinning gear.
14. Just to the right of that buck, on the third gear.
15. In the room with the green ooze, jump to a floating box on the right.
16. Then jump to the middle and take the rail across the room.
17. At the end of the room, jump to a floating box on the left.
18. Stay middle.
19. Almost at the end, you'll get to a room with a pillar in the middle. It's
in front of the pillar.
20. AND there's another behind the pillar.
DINO OASIS
1. Jumping stones to the left. Don't take the shooter ring, land on the last
stone.
2. Curve right, curve left. On the outside of the left curve, just off the
path.
3. Elevated path in the middle of the next curve. Shooter ring at the end.
4. Enter the first canyon, hit the mushroom on the left.
5. Slide, jump to the dino mouth.
6. Where the boulders come across the path, look on the left.
7. Where the two high roads come back together, it's just at the very end of
the dino spine.
8. Again, make it all the way to the end of the slide.
9. When you see the red ring, cut left to a mushroom (hold forward when you
bounce).
10. Ride the three rails, when you land there's a broken rib on the ground.
Look behind the fragment on the right.
11. Go through the stone passage. At the end, jump on the left rail (if you
drop down to another level, you went too far).
12. Head across the rocks...when you get to the back, instead of climbing,
run to the middle back of the area.
13. Between the next two fruit throwers.
14. After the boulders, grab the left rail, get the ring, and go through the
waterfall. It's just behind the waterfall.
15. At the next pond, jump the three jumping stones to the left. It's on the
middle jumping stone.
16. Swim the pond, enter the slide...where the two slides cross.
17. When you land in the pond at the bottom, head to the right.
18. Pass the boulder area, go through the tunnel, cut right. Take a hard
right for a hidden passage up to the catapult.
19. DO NOT take the catapult. Instead, jump down, head around the the right.
After the fruit thrower, cut right and go through the shooter ring to jump on
the three platforms.
20. In the final chamber, run along the left wall.
RUINS
1. In the ravine down to the basher shortcut, there is a green rock. Run up
the rock and jump from the top
2. After going through the log-tunnel, there are two outcroppings to jump to
the path on the right. Take the second one.
3. Jump on the fat vine to the left. Jump through the shooter ring.
4. Run up a ramp on the right to get to a glider shortcut. You don't need
to glide, just jump from the top.
5. Look for a small platform on the right.
6. Jump on that platform and all the way to the top, where there's four
shooters.
7. Where the basher path goes through the middle, before the bouncey leaves,
there's a snakey vine. Grind.
8. Keep grinding.
9. On one of the bouncey leaf platforms, towards the right, where there's
lots of bushes.
10. Stay in the middle of the slide. Jump when you see the buck.
11. Still in the middle, jump through the shooter ring.
12. At the bottom of the slide, drop into the water. Swim along the right.
13. Down the ramp with shooters, jump at the bottom.
14. Running along the "leaf bridge" with caterpillars, there's a big fat vine
to the right that you can grind, around the first caterpillar.
15. Shoot off the catapult at the end of the bridge.
16. Glide (or just land, if you're good with the catapult) on the far right
pillar of the bridge.
17. In one of the chambers, there's a wooden bridge running through the
middle. On a floating plank on the right there's a buck.
18. STAY HIGH. There's the series of big leaf platforms. Before jumping
down, or jumping over to the slide, look for a tall pillar to the right with
a buck on top.
19. On the first bridge, jump to the platform to the right. Then onto the
plank and through the red hoop.
20. Look to the left just before the finish line.
MT. MAGMA
For Mt. Magma, you'll need to acquire a new skill: jumping off of rails.
Just don't let go of the grind button. Rock your thumb back to hit jump
while holding your grind, and there you go!
1. Stay left at the start. Just before the first turn, there's a
pedestal on the left.
2. Continue to stay left. Look for a ramp going up (before the grass).
Follow the path to the end, DO NOT go through the shooter ring, but jump over
to the grass platform.
3. There's a place with two ramps with shooters on the left and right, with
two shooter rings at the tops of the ramps. Take the one on the right.
4. Immediately after, instead of grinding the rail on the left, stay right
and jump through the red trigger ring.
5. After climbing the green wall, look for a sandstone ramp on the right.
If you make it to the end of the shortcut, there's a buck.
6. Where the lava is flowing across the path, look up on the slope to the
right. It's around the middle of the lava section.
7. Look for a rail on the left. Grind it and hit the mushroom at the end.
The buck is in the air.
8. When you get to the water with the mushrooms and rails, jump on the
mushroom on the left. Don't touch the control stick. Two mushrooms later,
you'll be on a rail. Jump off the rail towards the end and hit the mushroom
at the end, which will bounce you to a rail in the center. Alternately,
halfway down the water there's a mushroom on the left you can get to. This
will also take you to the center rail.
9. At the end of the rail for #8, head right. If you are a glider you might
be able to glide to the rail on the right. Otherwise, you might be able to
fall to the mushroom on the right. Generally I had to just fall and jump back
up the slope and hit the mushroom. Anyway, there's another rail starting on
the right that has another buck.
10. After the hand over hand section, stay right and grab the rail. Where
the two rails cross, jump to the other one, heading left.
11. At the bottom of the slope, stay right. Where it drops off (if you miss
it you can't go back) jump out to the platform with the red button.
12. In the room with the giant dragons, don't take the mushroom jumps over the
volcano. Instead, head to the left. There's a path running along the lava
floor. There's a buck at the end of the path.
13. At the end of that path, there's a fence you can climb. At the top of
the climb, run to the far side of the path, there's a buck against the wall.
14. When you get to the three slides, head to the right. There's a buck in
the shooter ring at the very top.
15. Next, stay left. There's a buck on the rail on the left. (you can
actually run up and down the slide, there's paths outside of the rails)
16. Then, get over to the right rail, there's a buck on that side.
17. When the rail ends, there will be two orange mushrooms. Jump on the first
one.
18. Continue down the slide, stay to the middle. There will be a buck you can
jump to.
19. There's another buck further down on the right rail.
20. Over start of the bridge, right before the finish line.
BIOZONE
1. Branch right at the beginning. Where there's a gap in the path, jump to
the right along the top of the mushrooms.
2. Stay in the middle.
3. At the end of the first swim.
4. Take the lift to the top level and stay in the middle.
5. Again, to the right, run to the top of a ramp and jump off.
6. After the swim, take the left passage.
7. Right after the passage, where the path bends left, there's a buck
floating over the ooze. I used a glider, or you can just fall.
8. Go right to the lower path, it's in the middle.
9. Jump on the first bouncer.
10. When you get to the crumbling bridge, fall to the bottom level. It's
at the far end of the platform.
11. Take the lift right there, and there's another buck at the far end of
THAT platform.
12. On the glider medal shortcut (after the third swim) run up the ramp.
When it curves right, jump off the left side.
13. Where the little round platforms go up and down, take either bouncer at
the end of the row. The buck is on top of the piece of machinery at the end.
14. In the giant green ooze room, stay to the left. It's on one of the
islands.
15. Run up the big corkscrew path at the end of the same ooze room.
16. At the very bottom of the slope with the boulders rolling down it.
17. At the top of the boulder slope. Can't miss it.
18. Take the last bouncer before the tunnel.
19. After the rotating tunnel portion, it's in the middle.
20. After that, the last buck is in the middle of a shooter ring, in the
middle of the tunnel.
ALPINE
1. Go off the glider shortcut. Go up the steps right there and continue
down that path.
2. A little bit down the first mountain slope, on a rock.
3. Skip the first shooters and wrap around to your right. Take the second
shooters to the shortcut on the right.
4. Follow a series of rocks that end up launching you up to the slide.
Check the right rail.
5. Just past that, go right and jump through a window.
6. At the end of the slide, head right. Trip the button and go over the
drawbridge.
7. Continue on this path (don't fall). There's a buck at the end.
8. After the climb, drop down and head to the left.
9. Climb up, grab the rail on the right, and take it all the way to the
end. This one suck. Just keep at it. Remember rail jumping technique.
10. You'll see a path out of the water, off to the left, after the end of
the rail. At the first bridge, run over the top of the right wall of the
bridge.
11. When you get to the climbing wall, drop down. There's a buck on the
far side of this pillar structure thingy.
12. Head across the water and along the ice paths. There's a buck in the
middle.
13. Climb up the fence and take a hard left. There's a buck just behind
the fruit thrower.
14. To the right of the basher cottage.
15. When you get to the slope with the gondolas, take the left door at the
top of the slope. Go over the shooter and jump off the ramp.
16. Cut right after that, there's a thin high road.
17. Either slide, doesn't matter. Just grab the rail and jump at the end.
18. Keep heading down. You enter a big tunnel (multiple slides) with a
rail in the middle. Grab the rail and jump at the end.
19. Take the far right slide, the far right rail.
20. Just before the finish line, there's a walkway on the right.
FORTRESS
Really easy, just one trick...
You might be worried when you don't find any at first...
1. Ramp on the left, in a shooter.
2. In the middle, in the double shooter.
3. Above a rock in the middle.
4. Off the glider ramp on the right (where the medal is)
5. In the shooter ring along the platforms, just left of center.
6. Shooter ring to right of glider path, where the main path branches (one
of two branches in the course)
7. Take the right branch (middle).
8. Take the right branch (shooter ring).
9. Just after paths reconnect, over a lava patch on the right.
10. Off a pedestal, in the middle.
11. Next lava obstacle, jump off the left ramp.
12. Above a rock, in the middle.
13. Above a rock, in the middle.
14. Got to make it through the two shooter rings at the end of the next area.
I always found this a little tricky, don't know why.
15. Above the next lava patch. Use the shooter ring.
16. Over a lava patch on the right.
17. (if you missed two, this is where they are) Hit the switch just short of
the fortress and run through the gate before it closes.
18. At the end of the fortress, jump to grab the buck.
19. (on the last lap) instead of heading through the fortress or along the
bottom, run to the fortress door and head right. Jump through the shooter
ring.
20. If you grabbed 19, you grabbed 20 too. It's in the next shooter ring
that you go through.
CASTLE
This one's unique in that you're expected to be a tribrid. Either collect
the chunks or use Hex/Tremmel. Because of the laps and the multiple paths,
these aren't necessarily in order, other than the lap specific portions.
I'll assume you take the main path the first time, the glider the second,
and the basher/dasher the third.
-main path-
1. On a light colored boulder on the right, just over the first hump.
2. On the left, by the explosives.
3. In the middle, below a fallen tree.
4. On the left railing of the bridge.
5. Trigger ring on the right.
6. Trigger ring on the left.
7. On the jump out over the water.
-first lap end-
8. On a pedestal on the right.
-glider shortcut-
9. On the glider shortcut.
-second lap-
10. On the left amongst the exploding columns.
11. On the right side of the rope bridge.
12. Second swinging blade.
13. Second descending spike wall.
-basher to steep bridge *must be tribrid*-
14. After the first bashable stone column (fallen) on the basher cut.
15. After the second stone column (behind a tan rock).
16. Climb the steep bridge. From the end, hit the shooter and jump out.
Glide to the left column on the edge of the water.
-third lap-
17. In front of the fireplace in the second room.
18. After the giant portrait, on the left wall.
19. Before the wooden staircase, on the left wall.
20. First landing, left railing.
--Stunts--
Stunts are easy. Hold X and rotate the left stick while in the air, landing
facing forward. If you're having trouble with any of these you've just
missed one very simple point: unless you're going uphill, you can pull off a
rotation at any time just by jumping. Jump, one spin, land. Hammer them out.
Or you could hang out by bouncey things if that's more your style.
The first level requires 40 stunts, the next require 50. Mt. Magma requires
60, and I think at some point it jumps to 80. Just do as many as you can,
at most you'll have to do it twice.
--Attacks--
I found the dashers easiest for this one. You can either collect items
(chickens and fruit work best). Or just try to keep with the pack. Let
someone get ahead of you, dash up to them, and attack. Hopefully you can get
10 attacks on your first try. Again, you don't have to win to get credit.
--Time--
You're on your own. If you're having trouble, try to do the hex bucks and
medals. The bucks will force you to find the best routes, and the medals
will familiarize you with the skill-specific shortcuts. After that, just
don't scrub.
--Main Character Challenge--
The instructions say beat the entire game with each main character. What
they mean is just the last level. If you're shooting for speed, just play
through picking Sid, Chops, and Zero-G as your team. Then play the last
level three times.
- the dreadpiratetwosock
ihavenewsocks@hotmail.com

Submitted by dreadpiratetwosock - Published on 09/3/04See all Mad Dash Racing